Should the NFL have a Draft Lottery similar to the NBA?

Page 2 of Should the NFL adopt some sort of lottery similar to the NBA whereby every team that does not make the playoffs gets a shot (even if it is small) of th... 21 comments | 850 Views | Go to page 1 →

Quite simply a draft lottery of some would remove more doubt about teams "playing" for the last pick.
Lets say there are two 2-12 teams after 14 games.

Team A loses one game against a .500 team 17-13 and wins the other game against a 5-10 team 28-7. So they finish 3-13.

Team B loses one game against a .500 team 35-6 and loses the last game against a 6-9 team 42-7. They finish 2-14.

Why should Team B automatically get the first pick?

What if the worst team had a 32% chance, the second worst 26%, the third worst 22% and the fourth worst 20%?

The worst 4 teams would be guaranteed a pick somewhere in the Top 4 but the worst team would not be "granted" the #1 pick.

Do the same thing for teams 5-8. Why should two 6-9 teams meeting in the last game of the season try to beat each other? So they get a worse draft pick than the team they beat?

I see what you are saying. However what you are saying also rarely happens in the NFL. Those guys go out to compete no matter how had they are. As mentioned in another thread even the Bengals would have benefited from tanking the last month, but they didn't. Those players once they are on the field try to win, and play hard. Plus more likely to get hurt if they don't.

Even the Browns last year were digging and clawing to try to get wins at the end of the year. It does happen, but in the NFL it doesn't happen as much as other sports. Because in the NFL unless it's a can't miss QB at the top. There is no guarantee.

The Colts weren't in any hurry to win when Andrew Luck was looming in the draft...

Although I don't think the NFL should mess with the draft by adding a lottery at the top, I agree the Colts, Manning getting hurt, and Andrew Luck is a glaring example of the NFL Draft being a failure.

However, as bad as that one example was, I would much rather it roll out that way than for the Colts to have won a couple of more games that year, the NFL to have a lottery, and the Colts get lucky and end up with Luck anyway.

I see what you are saying. However what you are saying also rarely happens in the NFL. Those guys go out to compete no matter how had they are. As mentioned in another thread even the Bengals would have benefited from tanking the last month, but they didn't. Those players once they are on the field try to win, and play hard. Plus more likely to get hurt if they don't.

Even the Browns last year were digging and clawing to try to get wins at the end of the year. It does happen, but in the NFL it doesn't happen as much as other sports. Because in the NFL unless it's a can't miss QB at the top. There is no guarantee.

This is pretty much my opinion too (except the dig at the Browns ). NFL teams don't throw games to get the first draft pick. The first pick doesn't guarantee anything by way of player talent or future victories. Again, the case in point is the Browns with multiple top draft picks over the last umpteen years .

I think the lottery should go away. While in theory it may prevent teams from tanking, since everyone is pretty much convinced that tanking still takes place, it doesn't seem to be working. It also provides a basis for conspiracy theories that the lottery is rigged. And ultimately, it provides a potential roadblock to keeping competitive balance in the league, as the worst team often ends up without the first pick.